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His technique will be exploit once he went over his purple patch but till that he is numero uno and will easily end up as an ATG

He score's runs everywhere because he doesn't have any weakness, what work on him is the old school batting technique which can't be practiced to perfection but that's somehow a gifted skill which he's mastering

Still i doubt how long can he carry this,somone like Root who's technically sounds better may have enjoys more longevity

On the subject of Joe Root however; his conversion rate (50s to 100s) is lagging behind his counterparts. Kohli is a monster in that regard with Smith not that far behind. Root is nowhere close. Link. This is the only real criticism I have of Root at the moment. To me, that translates as fewer opportunities to take the game away from the opposition. Let's be honest however, it's not everything. Both Amla and Kallis' conversion rate is lower than both Kohli and Smith. Would that make Kohli a better test player than Amla or Kallis? Certainly not in my eyes.

His technique will be exploit once he went over his purple patch but till that he is numero uno and will easily end up as an ATG

He score's runs everywhere because he doesn't have any weakness, what work on him is the old school batting technique which can't be practiced to perfection but that's somehow a gifted skill which he's mastering

Still i doubt how long can he carry this,somone like Root who's technically sounds better may have enjoys more longevity

His "purple patch" has been going on since mid 2013 - nearly four years. Way too long and too big a sample size to refer to it in such terms.

His technique will be exploit once he went over his purple patch but till that he is numero uno and will easily end up as an ATG

He score's runs everywhere because he doesn't have any weakness, what work on him is the old school batting technique which can't be practiced to perfection but that's somehow a gifted skill which he's mastering

Still i doubt how long can he carry this,somone like Root who's technically sounds better may have enjoys more longevity

Let me get this straight. Why are posters overrating people from other eras like ponting, Sachin. U compare player to their peers in the same era to get the best judgment. Smith has clearly outperformed all his peers so far, and hence is the best test batsmen of this generation the way it's looking. That automatically puts him as an atg. People downplay bowlers of this generation saying the past ones were SOO MUCH BETTER. Now they are downplaying the best batsmen of this generation. Clearly, the problem is your lack of accurate judgment of players. The talent and quality of BOTH batsmen and bowlers didn't just suddenly downgrade. In fact, cricket has become more popular and more money is being invested in cricket, so the quality should in theory get higher

In odis, he has already played crucial knocks in world cup quarter, semi and final. In quarter final when Watson was dancing from a hostile spell he was the one who played calmly and moved on.

In tests he is way ahead others as of now. Plays in a much weaker batting line up than India and England.
Technically he struggles against swing at the start of innings like we saw in Ashes but once settled he can go big.

Smith is underrated because he doesn't 'look good'. Should end up as an ATG.

Sarfi as captain'll lead us to glory.Babar'll be our best odi bat & Haris'll be world class in tests

He's a run scoring machine, but I don't really want to rate him up there with the other greats because he looks so god damn ugly. He doesn't have the same elegance or class of legends like Sachin, Sanga, Ponting etc. had.

Ponting was miles better to watch. Smith is probably the best batsmen in the world and a match winner, but I would never pay to watch him. Aussies probably will, but I find it painful to watch him bat.

He's a run scoring machine, but I don't really want to rate him up there with the other greats because he looks so god damn ugly. He doesn't have the same elegance or class of legends like Sachin, Sanga, Ponting etc. had.

While his style of batting is unorthodox I dont think its ugly by any means

In fact I quite enjoy watching him bat and like how he is always positive unlike the others at times

While his style of batting is unorthodox I dont think its ugly by any means

In fact I quite enjoy watching him bat and like how he is always positive unlike the others at times

He plays like he's batting with a damn shovel...

I actually use to enjoy watching Ponting bat, even when he was tearing us a new one. Smith on the other hand is eh... I want him to fail because I don't want him to be in the same league as those legends, but he's mastered the art of scoring runs everywhere.

@Aman he wont surpass Ponting and Sachin but i think he could get past Lara. I dont see Smith playing past 35 36 his game is so reliant on his outstanding hand eye co-ordination to cover for his unorthodox technique and once his hand eye goes he will start to struggle.

@Aman he wont surpass Ponting and Sachin but i think he could get past Lara. I dont see Smith playing past 35 36 his game is so reliant on his outstanding hand eye co-ordination to cover for his unorthodox technique and once his hand eye goes he will start to struggle.

Bigger issue is most of these Aussies, Saffers or English don't care to play much beyond 35

There is a long way to go yet. First off, he still needs a sparkling performance against Pakistan in the UAE, he needs more of a dominance against their old rivals England, he needs to extend his run scoring across countries in general. 5000 runs in the modern game does not make an all time great.

True greats are forged through adversity, having to come through bad form, injuries, a change in their line ups, bowlers starting to suss them out etc etc. Smith hasn ot yet met such criteria, so to place him among the pantheon of Aussie greats (Waugh, Border, Ponting, Bradman, Chappell) would be rash.

Edit: oh and just to add, the truly great batsmen have a flourish and style to their game, something Smith will always lack, so he will have to make up for it in other departments.

There is a long way to go yet. First off, he still needs a sparkling performance against Pakistan in the UAE

So far, a big performance in the UAE is the ONLY thing he is missing in his test match batting career - and even then, he came pretty close with a 97.

Originally Posted by dildildalwalla

he needs more of a dominance against their old rivals England

The already has five hundreds against England in 18 matches, a handful of which were played when he was a bowling all-rounder. Matches that Australia won in the most recent Ashes series were off the back of the runs that Steve Smith made.

Originally Posted by dildildalwalla

he needs to extend his run scoring across countries in general. 5000 runs in the modern game does not make an all time great.

Nobody has suggested that he is already an ATG - this thread is speculating the likelihood of it happening. And at the moment, it looks more than likely that he will end up being an ATG.

Originally Posted by dildildalwalla

True greats are forged through adversity, having to come through bad form, injuries, a change in their line ups, bowlers starting to suss them out etc etc. Smith hasn ot yet met such criteria, so to place him among the pantheon of Aussie greats (Waugh, Border, Ponting, Bradman, Chappell) would be rash.

Smith came through adversity at the start of his career. He made his debut in July 2010, and played his tenth match in August 2013, over three years later, having been dropped from the team multiple times.

The Aussie line up has changed massively in the past year or two. Of the batsmen he played alongside in the 2013 Ashes whitewash, only Warner remains. And as for the bowlers, only Starc (although he didn't play in that particular series) and Lyon are first team regulars.

Bowlers have been trying to figure Smith out for almost four years now. Barring two poor matches in the 3rd and 4th Ashes tests in 2015, nobody has been able to stop his run-scoring. This suggests one of two things:
- The bowlers are no good.
- Smith is too good for the bowlers.

Originally Posted by dildildalwalla

Edit: oh and just to add, the truly great batsmen have a flourish and style to their game, something Smith will always lack, so he will have to make up for it in other departments.

By scoring runs, perhaps? Which is what he has been doing non-stop for the last four years.

Yes, he can look ungainly a lot of the time, but I personally love the way he clips the ball through the leg side, and his cover drive isn't half bad either.

Just to add, all the players Smith is being compared to - past (Sachin, Ponting, Lara) and present (Kane, Root and Kohli) - only Smith and Sachin average over 40 in every country they have played in. The rest of the batsmen have at least one gaping hole in their CV when it comes to scoring in all conditions.

The peak doesn't matter that much, Smith has been brilliant ever since he became regular in the team. Ponting never averaged above 60 in his career so Smith has been pretty consistent even outside peak. However this is not a comparison thread, Smith has a long way to go. Nobody is taking anything away from Punter, he's an ATG and one of the best captains of all time (top 5 easily)

The peak doesn't matter that much, Smith has been brilliant ever since he became regular in the team. Ponting never averaged above 60 in his career so Smith has been pretty consistent even outside peak. However this is not a comparison thread, Smith has a long way to go. Nobody is taking anything away from Punter, he's an ATG and one of the best captains of all time (top 5 easily)

Not true. After 112 matches, Ponting averaged 60.

Dravid too had similar stats at a comparable stage in his career. Smith is not even halfway there, so let's not be too quick to pass a judgement.

The peak doesn't matter that much, Smith has been brilliant ever since he became regular in the team. Ponting never averaged above 60 in his career so Smith has been pretty consistent even outside peak. However this is not a comparison thread, Smith has a long way to go. Nobody is taking anything away from Punter, he's an ATG and one of the best captains of all time (top 5 easily)

Ponting averged 60 or even close to that,he too had unbelievable consistency if you exclude that lean patch in the end phase of his carrier

Am not here to compare both but smith isn't reached that ponting like peak yet for that he need to do this kinda perfo at least for 1-2 years more

Dravid too had similar stats at a comparable stage in his career. Smith is not even halfway there, so let's not be too quick to pass a judgement.

Actually it's 107. Nobody is saying Smith is better than Ponting, however at this stage Smith is slightly ahead overall. And you're right about Dravid, he too averaged 58+ after 88 matches. Sangakkara is a freak, he averaged 58.94 after 127 matches. Don't think Sanga ever had a decline in form except for last 4 test.

So yeah, Smith is not exceptional definitely, we have seen our share of freaks recently.

So far, a big performance in the UAE is the ONLY thing he is missing in his test match batting career - and even then, he came pretty close with a 97.

Even if he got a 100 it wouldn't exactly be big. He has to score match winning runs there and against Pakistan who have hadt he best spinners over the last 8 or so years.

The already has five hundreds against England in 18 matches, a handful of which were played when he was a bowling all-rounder. Matches that Australia won in the most recent Ashes series were off the back of the runs that Steve Smith made.

My enduring image of Smiths Australia (cant remember if he was captain then or not) is 2015. getting battered by England by huge margins. Yeah they ended up winning the final test and making the scoreline 3-2 but the yhad two massive, back to back defeats which sealed teh series long before the final test. I think Smith scored a century in one of the winning matches but in the end, they got battered in 3 of the test matches.

I don't remember Smith making centuries as a bowler.

Nobody has suggested that he is already an ATG - this thread is speculating the likelihood of it happening. And at the moment, it looks more than likely that he will end up being an ATG.

Sure but like I said, a long way to go.

Smith came through adversity at the start of his career. He made his debut in July 2010, and played his tenth match in August 2013, over three years later, having been dropped from the team multiple times.

It's not called adversity when you're a rubbish leg spin bowler. Of course, it is a sign of exceptional learning ability to transform yourself from a bowler, to a bit part batsman to a number 3/4 batsman. But SMith will still have to come through age, bad form, a time when his reflexes, hands and eyes slow, when his feet slow, when he has to start lobbying against young guns. All the things the likes of Ponting, Tendulkar, Lara, Yousuf and co had to do.

The Aussie line up has changed massively in the past year or two. Of the batsmen he played alongside in the 2013 Ashes whitewash, only Warner remains. And as for the bowlers, only Starc (although he didn't play in that particular series) and Lyon are first team regulars.

Bowlers have been trying to figure Smith out for almost four years now. Barring two poor matches in the 3rd and 4th Ashes tests in 2015, nobody has been able to stop his run-scoring. This suggests one of two things:
- The bowlers are no good.
- Smith is too good for the bowlers.

By scoring runs, perhaps? Which is what he has been doing non-stop for the last four years.

Yes, he can look ungainly a lot of the time, but I personally love the way he clips the ball through the leg side, and his cover drive isn't half bad either.

Just to add, all the players Smith is being compared to - past (Sachin, Ponting, Lara) and present (Kane, Root and Kohli) - only Smith and Sachin average over 40 in every country they have played in. The rest of the batsmen have at least one gaping hole in their CV when it comes to scoring in all conditions.

Like I said, this isn't an argument on how good SMith is now but rather on how good Smith can be. He is miles away from being on the level of any of the past greats but he is slowly working his way there. As for his contemporaries, Root is more elegant, Kohli thus far has had the superior career (is older so theres that)...in terms of Kane, Smith is better in almost all facets.

It's going to be an interesting few years and I'm going to enjoy it. Like I always say, he has an amazing appetite for runs.

I think on the other thread using my formula I came up with, in chronological order:

Bradman
Sobers
Richards
Tendulkar
Kallis

So there can only be a maximum of 5 ATGs for each playing role? Let's look 100 years into the future (assuming test cricket is still being played then); if 5 players surpass the achievements of those that you have listed above, does that mean that the older players lose their ATG status?

I think this series has shown Smith is comfortably the best batsman in the world. His only weakness now is the swinging new ball in overcast conditions on greentops in England. In all other situations - rank turners, bouncy wickets, grassy wickets, flat wickets, normal English wickets - Smith is outstanding. Virat appears to be a bit of a flat track bully, the Indian David Warner.

Originally Posted by Robert

I think the captaincy will change that. Rooty will become more responsible.

You know I was thinking the other day, Kohli and Root are like perfect opposites of each other. Root gets starts and fifties very consistently and virtually never gets out cheaply, but also rarely gets big scores. Kohli often gets out cheaply but if he gets to 50, he usually goes on to get a big hundred or even a double.

I smash and grab and stash the cash in plastic bags
With raps that have pizzazz

Steve Smith could be on his way to becoming the best Test batsman of all time

This guy has really impressed, despite his ugly technique, he just seems to be in control almost every time. When he first arrived on to the scene, despite averaging above 45 in FC at that time, he failed as a batsman, but now he has transformed himself amazingly.

The way he is performing everywhere, along with a career average of above 60, with this rate he could be on his to becoming the best Test batsman of all time.

P.S: Don Bradman's average is way better, but he didn't play on such spinning tracks of India.

“He’s got time on his side, he’s batting as best as he possibly could. Technically, he’s just completely different to what we know.

“He’s just leading from the front, it’s what a captain of Australia is meant to do.”

I completely agree with him. Steve Smith has already scored more than 5000 Test runs with 20 Test centuries, and he is just 27 years old. He can easily break the batting records of most Test runs and most Test centuries. Add to that, he averages more than bloody 61.

If there is a better batsman than Sachin then he hasn’t arrived yet: Viv Richards

I agree, the way he's going, he's miles ahead of everyone else, he averages almost 74 since the start of 2014, the next best in that period is Williamson with his average of 66.

Most of all, he has scored all over the world, his away average is almost 60 as well, which is way more than that of Kohli's career average which is not even 50.

He's only 27 right now too, so if stays fit he can easily play for another decade at least, and break many more records.

The way he has batted in India in the recent series, very few players away from the sub-continent has been able to do it. Just like you mentioned, he's just 27 and has all the time in the world. I just hope he doesn't have any injury problems in the future because he is truly heading towards greatness. And I hope that he breaks many records, after all records are made to be broken and it's always good for the game for records to get broken.

If there is a better batsman than Sachin then he hasn’t arrived yet: Viv Richards